Soccer Headline

A goal in
each half gave the No. 14 Florida soccer team (3-1, 0-0 SEC) a 2-1 win over No.
9 FSU (2-2, 0-0 ACC) Sunday afternoon in front of a James G. Pressly Crowd of 2,412. The win was the first in front of
the Gator home crowd since Sept. 5, 2003 (UF 2, FSU 0).

Florida scored first Sunday. Senior Shana Hudson brought the ball down the
right side and played the ball for Ashlee
Elliott to run on. Elliott, deep in FSU territory, crossed the ball into
the box where Ashley Harris used
every inch of her 5-2 frame to head it into the far corner for her third goal
of the weekend.

“The ball
came into the corner and Ashlee served up the perfect cross,” Harris said.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel like I did that much.”

A 20-yard
free kick by FSU junior Mami Yamaguchi tied the match at 61:19. The free kick
was awarded when Amanda DaCosta was fouled just steps above the UF box.

The lead
was retaken by the Gators late in regulation. From near the middle of the
field, Shelley Lyle looked up and
saw space. She played the ball to the feet of freshman Karly Findorff who played the ball perfectly to KeLeigh Hudson. The eight-yard finish
to the far post was the second game-winning goal of the season for KeLeigh
Hudson.

“I was
making a run and saw open space. I was able to put that through ball from Karly
to the far post,” Hudson
said. “I was excited to put it in, but I knew there was still plenty of time
left. It really didn’t sink in that it was the game-winner until there was
about 10 second left.”

“I thought
the header from Ashlee to Ashley was outstanding.Then the goal, I think Karly slotted the ball
to KeLeigh and then KeLeigh had a text-book finish.I thought it was terrific. KeLeigh finished
that with such composure. That is not an easy thing to do.She made that look very easy, but that is not
an easy thing to do.That takes a lot of
skill and she did it really well,” Burleigh said. “To win this game without
Ameera being able to play, without Mel Booth being here (at the FIFA World Cup with
Canada),
it’s a big deal for us. I feel like we’re just going to get better.”

Series Notes:

All-Time Series: UF 9,
FSU 6

All-Time Series Home
Record: UF 6, FSU 3

All-Time Series Road
Record: UF 3, FSU 3

Sunday’s match
was the seventh in the all-time series that was decided by a single goal

Five of the
last nine meetings between these two teams have been by a 2-1 score

Florida was without junior All-American Ameera Abdullah on Sunday, as she
suffered a left peroneal tendon strain in a collision Friday with the USF
goalkeeper. She will be evaluated by team doctors again this week.

The
Seminoles did have a few excellent opportunities to score in the match. Perhaps
the most dangerous came early in the second half. FSU’s Sarah Wagenfuhr’s shot
looked like it was going to score at the near post, but sophomore Lauren Hyde cleared the ball off the
line.

Next up,
the Gators head to the Midwest for their first
road trip of the season. Action opens at Illinois
on Friday, Sept. 14 at 8:30 p.m (ET). The action for that match can be heard
live on WRUF-AM 850. Then Florida heads to Des Moines, Iowa,
to face Drake on Sunday, Sept. 16. GatorVision subscribers can see the UF-Drake
match when play begins at 2 p.m.